Kobe Bryant has said that he is preparing for the "last chapter" of his career in the NBA.

The Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, who tore his Achilles earlier this year, is entering the final year of his current contract with the team.

The 35-year-old told Sports Illustrated: "Maybe I won't have as much explosion. Maybe I'll be slower, maybe I'll lose quickness. But I have other options. It's like [boxer] Floyd Mayweather in the ring. There's a reason he's still at the top after all these years.

"It's the last chapter. The book is going to close. I just haven't determined how many pages are left. I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure.

"I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like, 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill'. We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it. You rise above it."

Bryant was picked in the first round of the 1996 Draft by the Charlotte Hornets before being traded to the Lakers.